PhD Opportunity: BBSRC – Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science &
Technology (ICASE)
Application Deadline: 27th April 2018
Area of Research: New methodologies to enhance phenotypic variation in
crops
Compared to animals, somatic cells of plants can be much more easily
reprogrammed to regenerate whole new organs and, sometimes, entire
individuals. This unique biological property has enabled plants to
reproduce either sexually or asexually according to their habitat. The
ability of plant cells to readily acquire a totipotent state has been
attributed to their flexible epigenetic states. As a result, plant
totipotency has been traditionally exploited by humans for the clonal
propagation and genetic manipulation of economically important species.
However, clonal plants are not always phenotypically identical to their
parents, a phenomenon not well understood. Our recent data indicates
that this form of phenotypic variation is linked to the accumulation of
epigenetic modifications as a consequence of incomplete resetting of
somatic imprints. The aim of this project is to use this knowledge and
develop technologies to enhance phenotypic diversity in crop elite lines
by the targeted manipulation of the genome.
The student will assess novel routes to enhance phenotypic diversity in
model plants and elite crop varieties, primarily focusing on identifying
the genetic and epigenetic changes created during cloning and developing
tools to enhance plant performance through targeted genome manipulation.
The student will be mainly based in the department of Life Science at
Warwick. S/He will spend up to 3 months at KWS and will undertake
extensive training opportunities provided by the BBSRC funded Midlands
Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP).
The candidate would be expected to have at least a 2:1 degree on Biology
or a science related subject. The studentship covers the 4 year value of
stipend, fees and incidental costs for home students. The studentship
will start in October 2018. More information about MIBTP can be found
at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mibtp/.
For applications please apply via the online application form
https://postgrad.warwick.ac.uk/SWIFT.web/skins/pgapp/login.aspx,
selecting course code P-C1PB (Life Sciences PhD). In the finance section
of the form please enter MIBTP and iCASE “Enhanced phenotypic
variation”.
Enquires about the studentship should be directed to:
Dr. Jose Gutierrez-Marcos, School of Life Sciences, University of
Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL. Tel: +44 (0)2476 575077. Email:
[log in to unmask]